The 2023 winner of Springboard’s FutureChef – a national competition to find the UK’s best young cook – has been revealed as Kristen Nugent, aged 15, from Killeeshil in County Tyrone.
The final, held at Westminster Kingsway College on 13th March, saw twelve up-and-coming young chefs from across the country battling it out to win the annual competition, hosted by hospitality charity, Springboard.
The Worshipful Company of Cooks continued its support as one of the competition sponsors. The Master Reverend Keith Powell, Past Master David Smith and Court Assistant Simon Fooks all attended the event, and cheques were presented to all 12 finalists on behalf of the Company.
Springboard FutureChef is a school-based programme that aims to find the UK and Ireland’s next generation of culinary talent, inspiring young people to pursue an exciting career within the world of hospitality. Now in its 24th year, it has seen more than 214,000 young people aged 12-16 take part.
The competition calls on budding chefs to compete and develop their culinary skills, with different rounds introducing participants to important themes around sustainability, plant-based, and zero-waste cooking.
This year’s panel of industry-leading judges, included Adam Handling, Nieves Barragan Mohacho and 2023 National Chef of the Year, Ben Murphy.
Since winning her regional heat in Northern Ireland, Kristen has worked with award winning Dungannon-based mentor-chef James Devine, to hone her skills and create dishes that wowed the judges in every round, including smoked and poached rainbow trout, citrus cured rillette, hens’ egg, chive mash, soused vegetables and herb butter sauce along with her rhubarb, vanilla panna cotta, granola crunch crumble and maple dessert.
Kristen will now benefit from ongoing support, development, and apprenticeship opportunities from Springboard, including the chance to have her recipes published. Discussing her win, Kristen said, “It has been a whirlwind experience competing in the FutureChef competition – and it is amazing to see my hard work finally pay off. The support and guidance I have received from my mentor James has been instrumental in my success. I am more passionate than ever about pursuing a career in hospitality and I cannot wait to see what the future holds and the opportunities this will unlock.”
Celebrating Kristen’s success, her mentor James, said: “It has been a pleasure to see Kristen grow over the past few months – her confidence and knowledge have skyrocketed. Competitions like FutureChef really help the next generation explore their passions and it is exciting to see the next generation of culinary superstars developing and experiencing success already.”
Discussing the importance of the competition, Chris Gamm, CEO of Springboard, said: “Our FutureChef competition is always a big moment in our calendar and we always love witnessing the talented young individuals entering the industry and exploring their passion and love for the sector and all it has to offer. It plays a vital part in introducing new talent to the world of hospitality. Many well-known industry heavyweights have supported FutureChef, from Monica Galetti to Michel Roux Jr, Angela Hartnett, and Clare Smyth. It is simply a great stepping stone into the industry.”
